The nine remaining finalists receive their next challenge from Esquire's articles editor Ryan D'Agostino. They must create a recipe for the Esquire man that works for the magazine's "Recipe for Men" section.
Then the finalists head to the Good Housekeeping test kitchen where they're greeted by Giada De Laurentiis and Good Housekeeping's editor-in-chief, Rosemary Ellis.
The finalists are randomly assigned a holiday and must prepare a dish that represents their holiday in a new and exciting way. The challenge winner finds out he or she will be featured in Good Housekeeping's July issue, and the next finalist is eliminated.
In the season five premiere of The Next Food Network Star, the 10 finalists are immediately thrown into their first challenge. They head to Food Network Kitchens and are greeted by the selection committee (Iron ChefBobby Flay and Food Network executives Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson), who inform the finalists that they’ll be split into two teams and catering Food Network’s "Sweet 16" party.
The teams are tasked with creating delicious dishes and serving tables packed with Food Network stars like Giada De Laurentiis, Alton Brown, Duff Goldman, Sunny Anderson and Masaharu Morimoto, and also Access Hollywood co-host Nancy O’Dell! The first finalist is then eliminated.